Playing with Fire
by ShardsandAshes
Summary: If you play with fire, you're going to get burned. But sometimes, the price can be well worth it as Minerva McGonagall is about to find out.
1. The Choice

**Disclaimer****: I don't own it, and I make no money off of it. Please don't sue me.**

**AN:**** This AU story is being written for the Romanticized Situation Competition and the Triad Diversity Boot Camp. It is also a gift for Greyella who writes incredible femme slash stories that play with language in a way that I cannot hope to match. She was the first one to introduce me to the possibilities of Bellatrix/Minerva. Throwing Alecto into the mix just makes it more fun. The pairing is Bellatrix Lestrange/Alecto Carrow/Minerva McGonagall. The prompt is "fire."**

** This AU story takes place after the Final Battle during which Bellatrix Lestrange does not die, but Nagini and Harry Potter do, along with other alterations. I have butchered canon dates, including early canon and the date of the First War. I have made Alecto only a few years younger than Bellatrix. I have also made Tom Riddle and Minerva McGonagall classmates in school. This story centers around the triad femme slash relationship of Bellatrix, Alecto, and Minerva. There is a background triad slash relationship of Rodolphus Lestrange, Amycus Carrow, and Severus Snape. Bellatrix and Rodolphus are still married but in name only. Severus Snape is dark and loyal to Voldemort. All characters, especially Minerva, could be considered OOC, but this is the way I like to write them. **

**I'm not sure quite how this story will go, but I will warn for adult themes, adult language, and general adult content. There will be lemons, but they will not be graphic. All parties involved will be fully consenting. **

They had all made compromises they weren't proud of.

Minerva freely admitted that she was guilty of that. Oh, she had hidden it well enough under a veneer of "the greater good," portraying herself as the "guardian of the students." She had almost managed to convince herself that she had done what was right. Almost, however was the key to that bit of tomfoolery.

Simply put, Minerva had decided that she didn't want to die.

The Final Battle had not gone as anyone expected. Harry had died at the wand of Lord Voldemort, and the light had suddenly found itself to be the losing side. With exaggerated graciousness, Lord Voldemort had offered amnesty to anyone willing to become neutral. They would not be expected to fight for the dark, but they would not be allowed to take up wands against them either. Each neutral witch or wizard would be bound to serve the dark in non-combat positions and various other tasks. It was a step up from slavery and a step down from independence. Minerva had been rather surprised that he had offered it at all. Of course, those who rejected amnesty were executed immediately.

Perhaps the Dark Lord's mercy had something to do with Nagini's death. Needless to say, Neville, Nagini's killer, did not get the chance to choose to be neutral. Lord Voldemort had permitted the light to bury their dead, and they had buried Harry and Neville together.

Whatever the reason, Minerva found herself watching hazily as the survivors made their choice. She swayed on her feet, but she did not realize that she was falling until slender, strong arms caught her. They were arms that had not held her in many years, arms that, even in the midst of despair, sent a forbidden thrill of pleasure through her.

Bellatrix Lestrange and Alecto Carrow had seen her sway, and they had caught her before she could fall. Those of her light friends who remained alive watched her in confusion since she did not fight the embrace of the two younger dark witches but let them help her sit down. Inwardly, Minerva smiled ever so slightly. Only one person had ever known the full truth about how perilously close she had come to crossing the line with these two women when they were her students. But Albus Dumbledore was dead, and the look on their faces told her that Bella and Alecto had not forgotten her either.

The Dark Lord's voice came as if from a distance. "Ladies, is Minerva injured?"

The remaining light members murmured in consternation, but Minerva, suddenly annoyed, felt no inclination to enlighten them. She and Tom Riddle, after all, had been contemporaries in school. As much as a Gryffindor and a Slytherin could be, they had been friends. The dark side was clearly capable of having long memories for those who had shown them friendship…and more.

Tom had shared some of the dark magic he was learning with her. She had never told anyone where she had learned it though she knew that Albus had probably figured it out. That dark magic had saved her life several times over the years. Oddly enough, she owed Lord Voldemort a life debt. At the very least, he was entitled to call her by her given name.

Bella answered the Dark Lord's question. "She took one too many curses during the battle, my Lord. She needs a healer, potions, and rest."

The Dark Lord waved them off. "Take her to Malfoy Manor and stay with her. Narcissa can tend her. Assuming, Minerva, that you will accept amnesty?"

Bella and Alecto were staring down at her nervously, well aware that Minerva might consider it "the greater good" to die with the martyred members of the light. But as it happened, Minerva was tired. There were still students that needed protecting, after all. Bella and Alecto's embrace was far too comfortable. And when she was honest with herself, she really didn't want to die.

"I accept." They were some of the hardest words she had ever said. They were some of the sweetest words that Bellatrix and Alecto had ever heard although Minerva didn't know that yet.

She would know it soon.


	2. Again

**Disclaimer****: I don't own it, and I make no money off of it. Please don't sue me.**

It was several days before Minerva was up and about the Manor, and she was surprised but pleased to find herself being treated as an honored guest rather than a witch who was alive thanks to the whim of the Dark Lord. She was beginning to suspect, however, that Bellatrix and Alecto had something major to do with it.

One or the other of them was always with her. In the beginning, Minerva had assumed they were simply still fond of her and thus concerned about her health. She was, after all, not exactly young. But after a week of the shadowing, it became clear that there was something more going on.

For the first time since she had arrived, she was walking down the hallway to the library without one of them with her although she suspected they were in the library. Aware of how quick they were to draw their wands, she stopped at the half-open door and peered around it into the cavernous room.

What she saw took her breath away.

Bellatrix was sprawled on her back across a stately, polished table, her riotous curls shimmering against the lighter wood. Alecto straddled her, pinning Bella's hands against the table and using her weight to keep the elder witch from moving as they kissed passionately. The women were only half-dressed with Bella bare to the waist and Alecto's black skirt up around her hips as Alecto trailed her unbound red hair across Bella's bare skin. The younger witch was giggling madly as Bella's dark eyes glittered dangerously up at her though she was grinning just as madly as Alecto.

Minerva tried to swallow and couldn't manage it. She tried again with no success. In her mind's eye, she was remembering a similar scene in her classroom at Hogwarts with these very same women so many years ago. Bellatrix had turned out to be a transfiguration prodigy, and Minerva had taken the young woman on as her apprentice upon graduation. Seventh year Alecto, already of age, had possessed the same talent, and Minerva realized she might have the chance to apprentice two of her students.

At the time, war was on the horizon, and Minerva was well aware that her Slytherin prodigies were ripe for plucking by the Dark Lord, the man Minerva remembered too well with bittersweet affection as Tom Riddle. She hoped that their apprenticeships might keep them on the side of the light.

But she had not counted on their attraction to each other. Moreover, she had certainly not expected their attraction to her or hers to them. She'd always known that she was attracted to women, but it was something that she done her best to keep hidden.

She'd managed it perfectly until that evening when she entered her classroom for her joint lesson with the two young women to find them sprawled across her desk making out with such utter abandon that Minerva gasped. And they heard her.

She remembered the look in their eyes, innocence mixed with lust and an entreaty that Minerva had very nearly not resisted.

"Minerva, come join us. Let us love you too," Bellatrix had whispered. The two of them had disentangled themselves enough to reach out hands to her, inviting her to join them on the desk.

She'd taken one step, two steps, three steps before the reality of what she would be doing caught up with her. They were her students! They were both of age, but that didn't change the fact that they were her students. To think that she was so close to crossing that line so easily…in that moment, she hated herself.

Minerva did the only thing she felt she could. She fled the room. She'd immediately terminated Bellatrix's apprenticeship and purposely made sure that she was too sick to attend Alecto's graduation. She hadn't seen the women for several years after that.

And the next time she heard about them, they were known Death Eaters. To this day, she'd wondered if her rejection had driven them into the arms of the dark.

The déjà vu was overwhelming as a much older Minerva stared at her former students entwined together. But they had not been her students for many years now, and they were well past their teenage years. The old longing surged up in her then, and she found herself even more tempted than she had been before to go to them. Her sigh echoed loudly in the room, and Bellatrix and Alecto turned slightly, eyes widening when they saw her standing there.

"Well now, what lovely déjà vu this is," Bellatrix said. The two of them shifted enough to free Bella's hands. The elder witch sat up, giving Minerva quite a view of her assets as she shifted Alecto in her lap.

For a moment, Minerva simply stared at them. She felt damp heat between her thighs and found herself startled that she could still react that way so easily. And then, as they had the first time, the two women extended their hands to her.

"Shall we try again, Minerva?" Alecto said softly.

Minerva had extended her hand to them before she even realized she had done it. But then she made the mistake of looking down. She looked at her old, bony, wrinkled hand, dotted with age spots and aching slightly with the pain of arthritis. They had been too young then, and she had turned her back on them. Now, she was too old, and they were Death Eaters. And they had blood on their hands and were no doubt responsible for so much evil and…all the reasons why she shouldn't do it overwhelmed her.

And one more time, Minerva turned and fled.


	3. A Talk with a Friend

**Disclaimer****: I don't own it, and I make no money off of it. Please don't sue me.**

**AN****: Please remember this story is AU. Minerva is in her early seventies at this point. Even though as a witch she ages more slowly than a muggle, Minerva is still very much feeling her age, especially in comparison to Bellatrix and Alecto. There is more to come, so please be willing to wait for the story to catch up to your unanswered questions. **

Malfoy Manor was bigger than Minerva had realized, and without her usual escorts she had gotten hopelessly lost. Out of breath from too much running too soon after her recovery, she found her way into what seemed to be a sumptuous but nondescript guest suite and curled up in an overstuffed armchair, quickly falling into a restless sleep.

The Dark Lord entered his sitting room to find none other than Minerva McGonagall asleep in his favorite chair. His Death Eaters wouldn't have dared to mention it if they had witnessed it, but a ghost of a tender smile flitted across his face and then was gone. He was partial to the woman; he freely admitted that. She had been one of his few friends at Hogwarts, and it had pleased him greatly to discover that the dark magic he had taught her had saved her life. Granted, he had not intended for her to end up owing him a life debt, but since it seemed have made her slightly more inclined toward the dark side of magic, he wasn't going to complain.

But he was troubled now, having just come from a lengthy discussion with Bellatrix and Alecto. By the time he found them, they were decently clothed but clearly upset, Alecto especially. Neither of them had taken Minerva's second rejection well, and they were both bewildered as to what to do next.

If the Dark Lord had not actually cared about them, he might have found it funny to find two of his fiercest Death Eaters so vulnerable over the rejection of one woman. Instead, he was concerned. Both women's emotions tended toward the volatile, and Bella's time in Azkaban had not helped her situation any. As for Amycus, her difficult childhood had rendered her more dependent than he would have liked. She looked to Bellatrix for guidance and protection as well as love. The two of them desperately needed a balance, a third in their bond, and the Dark Lord intended for Minerva to be that third.

Convincing her of that, however, was going to take a bit more work.

Minerva stirred from her sleep and sat up, blinking blankly at him for a minute before she remembered just how she had gotten there.

Flustered, she exclaimed, "I'm sorry…my Lord. I was attempting to find my way back to my room and somehow got lost."

The Dark Lord laughed though it sounded more like a hiss. "Minnie, you would never have dreamed of calling me by a title before, much less that one. I think that, in private, I can certainly give you leave to call me Tom."

Minerva smiled slightly. He was not the boy she'd once counted as her friend, not completely anyway, but behind the scarlet, an echo of her Tom still lurked in his eyes. Her magic recognized his magic, twisted though it was now. It was enough. It would have to be enough.

A house elf startled her out of her thoughts. She smiled gratefully at Tom as he handed her a cup of tea and took one for himself before nudging a plate of sandwiches in her direction. They were her favorite, of course, simple fare rather than the too sweet pastries that Albus Dumbledore had preferred. She ate several, surprised by how hungry she was.

He watched her with a hint of pleasure. "It's good to see you eating. You are entirely too thin. You must eat more to regain your strength."

"It's amusing to hear you say that. When we were in school, I was always the one encouraging you to eat." Minerva retorted, and he laughed again.

"Touché, Minnie." He sobered quickly. "When you are reasonably recovered, I have a task for you."

She stiffened slightly as he knew she would. Minerva could play her part well, but he was not naïve enough to believe that she had forgotten her place. Her life was not completely her own, and she knew it.

"What task?" He could sense her curiosity warring with her disgust. Despite her lack of outright rebellion against him, he knew that she had not surrendered her will. Really, he wouldn't have wanted her to. He needed her spirit as much or more than he needed her skills.

"Severus has found a ritual, one which would result, ideally, in the restoration of my body. However, it relies heavily on transfiguration, permanent transfiguration which is, as you know, the most difficult kind." He was not surprised by the spark of interest he saw in her green eyes though she tried to conceal it.

"I am more than capable of permanent transfiguration. But I am not certain that I have the power necessary to restore a human body. Even to permanently transfigure an item such as a piece of clothing requires almost the entirety of a witch or wizard's power," Minerva admitted.

He smirked, "That is why Bellatrix and Alecto, also mistresses of the art of transfiguration, will be assisting you."

She was on her feet and turning away from him before even he could react. He had never seen her move that fast. The Dark Lord reached out and placed his hand on her arm. She did not pull away, but she did not turn to face him.

He sighed. "Minerva, why do you fight this? They clearly want you, and you just as clearly want them. Why do you deny yourself what you want?"

"They were my students." Minerva still would not look at him.

"They have not been your students for many years. Considering you taught every single one of my Death Eaters, using that as your rule for choosing a lover is going to leave you with very few options." He leaned closer to her, gently but firmly forcing her to look at him. "Try again."

"What if I don't want a lover?" The lie tasted bitter on her tongue as she said it, and she knew that he knew that she was lying.

"Don't insult my intelligence, Minnie. You are a passionate woman, and I suspect that all the dark magic surrounding you now has made you even more so. So I will ask you one more time. Why are you resisting them?"

She heard the slight menace in his voice and knew that, despite her privileged position, the Dark Lord would kill her if she pushed him too far.

"It's wrong!" Minerva finally burst out, wondering if he'd put a compulsion charm in her tea. "They are the epitome of evil, the opposite of everything I've ever stood for and so many people have fought and died for! They've got blood on their hands that can never be absolved! How can I make myself a party to that?"

The Dark Lord folded his arms and watched her abruptly sit down, breathing hard.

He repeated his question, more gently this time. "Why are you resisting them?"

She seemed to crumple into a heap, like a puppet with its strings cut, slumping against the arm of the chair. For several moments, there was silence.

Then Minerva whispered, "For all those reasons I just said. That much is true. However…shall I shackle them to this?" With an angry gesture, she thrust her hands out to him, her old, tired, aching hands. "Look at me, Tom!" she ground out, with another angry gesture to take in her aged body. "Shall I give them this? What kind of lover can I be to them? Whatever I once had to offer them has been devoured by the curse of time. How can I shackle them to this old heart, to this ancient body, to this elderly crone, to this dried up old schoolmarm who understands passion about as much as a muggle understands Mermish!"

The Dark Lord did indeed look at her, and there was tenderness in his scarlet gaze that calmed her even as he responded.

"Judging from what they told me, they want to be shackled. As to their reasons, you shall have to ask them yourself." His mild tone diffused her anger. "Is it really them you are afraid of, Minnie? Or is it, perhaps, the truth of your own heart?"

The Dark Lord turned on his heel and left her there alone.


End file.
